Interview with Peter Mali, designer of the French furniture company LIGNE ROSET

Passing the gallery

Interview prepared: Natalya Sedyakina

Magazine: N6 (51) 2001

The famous French brand Ligne roset is perhaps one of the few that are directly associated with the country - because it most fully reflects the mentality of the nation ... The pillow-original design of the company is known worldwide as well as the expressive-erotic models of the Italian Cappellini, as respectable luxury German Rolf Benz, as the aristocratic restraint of the Swiss De Sede. Last season in Moscow "opened" the arrival of Peter Mali, permanent designer Ligne roset for almost 15 years now. By the way, he is not a Frenchman by nationality.SALON. You have been working for Ligne roset for a very long time, since 1984. How do you see the concept of this company? - This is a very modern concept. The design of Ligne roset connects two mentality - German and Romance. And most importantly, they are harmoniously connected, because even though we live in a united Europe, the difference in perception and thinking among different nations still remains.S. How do you manage to do things in French style? After all, you spent your childhood in the Czech Republic, and now you live in Germany. - I was really born in the Czech Republic, but in the part that belonged to the Germans at that time. In fact, it was Germany. And then, you know, I never thought in terms of country, region, nationality. I always felt like a European. My grandfather, for example, was an Austrian. My uncle was Czech, and my father was German. But we never attached importance to nationality, much more important was what a person was doing.S. What did your father do? - He had a small fashion studio.S. That is, instead of couturier, you became a designer? - If my father had not died during the Second World War, then I most likely would have become a couturier. I was fascinated by the process when a shapeless pile of cut fabric gradually turned into a beautiful costume or dress. Numerous fittings, painstaking fit seemed to me a real sacred act. S. Let's open the veil over the "kitchen" of the design profession. How does this happen - call from the company ... - Various proposals come from the factories, everyone wants to do something. And you can choose what you have more soul lies. For example, they call from Ligne roset and say: we found a manufacturer who handles silver very well in India, could we do something of silver together. And I sit down and start thinking. Or, for example, the task is to make the bed. (At the moment, I am just coming up with a new bed for Ligne roset.) Before starting work, I study the market - I look where and what beds are being made so that there is no duplicate. And after I create something that has not yet been, with some advantages.S. How does it appear? The process of work itself gives rise to an idea, or do you see a new model in a dream? - No, this is just a work process. An infinite number of sketches. Entire blocks of special albums with transparent paper - superimposing the subsequent sketch on the previous one, you can see the changes. To trace the evolution of the development of this model. Choose the best drawing. If the mood is good, then you can make a good picture. If bad, then it is better to postpone the work.S. And what do you do when you are not working? Do you have any hobbies? - I read a lot. Thomas Mann, for example. I also like to go hiking, - I mean real hiking, not in the sense of a walk in the park. My "urban passion" can be called visits to restaurants. I love Italian cuisine. In addition, my collecting (and purely human) passion is Pimont wines.S. That is, do not like beer? .. - No, why not. I enjoy drinking beer when I have dinner at a German restaurant. And when I eat dumplings, respectively, I drink vodka. The main thing is that everything is in harmony.S. Is your design also based on a sense of harmony? - Of course. But you need to be very careful that everything is not too harmonious. S. That is? - Well, if everything is too harmonious, this is an ideal, a work of art. A person, having come home, should feel comfortable. And if there are works of art everywhere, it will feel like in a museum. He is alienated as a person, objects no longer serve him, since they are self-sufficient.S. How is the process of the final selection of "not quite harmonious sketch"? - Very difficult. Often I cannot decide for myself what is better, and then I consult with my wife. Or with my work team. But the final decision is still for me.S. What is your favorite collection? - No such. In the end, the success of my work is not even determined by the collection, which later may or may not like, but in the first place, the relationship with the customer. I develop my models anonymously, for people I don’t know, and these are cold feelings. A warm - this is just communication with a representative of the company. When we meet, we first go to eat, then we drink, and then we start to work. And while I enjoy the work. Because good design can occur only in an atmosphere of understanding between the customer and the designer. This is an interactive process. By the way, I invented the first models for Ligne roset at a restaurant, at dinner, with Pierre Rose.S. What else would you like to design? Is there some hidden designer dream? - A lot, just can not list ...